


Emptiness

by Nishinoya4Yuu



Series: Forward [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Implied Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Post-Graduation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-28
Updated: 2017-05-28
Packaged: 2018-11-05 23:04:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11023458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nishinoya4Yuu/pseuds/Nishinoya4Yuu
Summary: Oikawa Tooru has graduated from High School and he has his whole life to look forward to. This is that first day.





	Emptiness

**Author's Note:**

> The writing prompt was: The 3rd years first day after graduation.

 

_Beeeeeeeeep. ___

____

____

_Beeeeeeeeep. ___

____

____

_Beeeeeeeeeep._

____

____

The room was dark and small and so the beeping seemed to vibrate off the walls and fill the space. The only light was the glowing green numbers reading 05.30. Blankets on the bed started to rustle and move and a face suddenly appeared groggy and blinking. Chocolate brown eyes fixed onto the time staring back at him in the dark. He narrowed his eyes and bought the world slowly into focus. He reached his hand out and smashed it down on top of the alarm to stop the incessant beeping. 

He rolled over on his futon and let his eyes focus on the ceiling. Everything was blurry without his glasses or contacts but that didn't matter for his ritual. He had begun every morning for the past 3 years by spending 5 minutes alone with the quiet in his room just letting his thoughts focus on what the day held. What did today hold? 

His heart suddenly clenched in his chest. He'd forgotten. Today held absolutely nothing. Today was an empty void in his calendar. Wednesday March 5, 2014. The first day of the rest of his life. Oikawa Tooru was officially a High School graduate and by all accounts he had a bright future ahead of him. 

He let his thoughts wander to his plans for the coming weeks. He would need to end his life here in Miyagi and start again fresh in Tokyo where he was to attend Chuo University. He would get to continue playing volleyball and at a higher level than ever before. He would begin his classes towards his degree in business and he would make lots of new friends. 

He closed his eyes and threw his arm over his forehead. His voice whispered, full of venom, “Friends, huh?” He took in a deep breath and let his chest fall as he exhaled with a sigh. He had told himself he wasn't going to think about it. It wasn't a big deal, but now that his mind had wandered there he couldn't turn back. His thoughts would be stuck for the rest of the day on Iwaizumi Hajime. 

Iwaizumi had been Oikawa's best friend since elementary school. They had been together for so long, nearly every single day for years on end. How do you just suddenly leave that behind? How do you just sever those ties and move on? The answer made Oikawa laugh bitterly. The answer is that your best “friend” decides to attend Hokkaido University. 1,191.4 km. That's the answer to how you leave that all behind and move on with your life. 1,191.4 km.

The number was etched into his mind like a scar that somebody had carefully carved there. He'd spent the last few months worrying over that number but it hadn't felt real. It felt real now. In 2 weeks Iwaizumi would be moving to Hokkaido and a few days after that Oikawa would leave for Tokyo. They'd made all these grand promises to stay in touch but how do you really have a friendship when 1,191.4 km separate you. See? There was that damn number again. 

Oikawa rolled over on his futon and reached out in the darkness feeling for something. His fingers brushed against the soft dimpled texture of a volleyball. He gripped onto it and suddenly his mind began to clear. _This _was his path. _This _was his future. He didn't really need anything else if he was logical about it. _This _was all he'd ever really wanted, right?______

_____ _

_____ _

He pulled the ball close to him and felt the texture under his fingers, the weight in his hands. He spun it deftly and then laying onto his back he tossed it gently into the air. The ball fell quickly back down towards his face but before it could even think of doing any damage his fingers were there to stop it. They hardly even made contact with the ball but still they directed it expertly back up into the air. 

“1,” he counted. The ball touched his fingers again, “2,” he began to keep count of his little game. He was incredibly good at it and he hardly ever 'lost'. He considered it a loss when he accidentally sent the ball in the wrong direction or too forcefully and he wasn't able to keep it up any longer. Usually he grew bored before he lost. But today? Today felt like he might just win. 

Sunlight slowly began to filter into the room but Oikawa was focused on one thing. His life. His goal. His _everything _. He continued to expertly toss the ball into the air and with each touch of the finger tips his count grew. “989,” he said, his voice starting to sound hoarse from the early morning counting. And then again, “990.”__

____

____

His thoughts occasionally flitted back and forth to places he didn't want them to be so instead he always turned them back to focus on his game. What was Iwaizumi doing right now? “1,005.” Why was Iwaizumi too busy to meet up today? “1,006.” What was Hokkaido like? “1,007.” The minutes ticked on and on and he kept on playing. He would always keep on playing. Right? That was his choice. That was his path. 

He tossed the ball lightly again and he let out a sigh. This game was pretty boring if he was honest. He whispered, “1,190.” His breath caught his throat. He'd managed to forget that damn number for a while but now here it was again, staring him right in the face. The ball came crashing down and he let his fingers lightly toss it up again, “1,191...” he quickly jumped up and grabbed the ball out of the air before it could reach it's full height. “1,191.4.....” 

He stood on his futon, sweat hanging on his brow and his fingers digging into the volleyball. He held onto it tightly, his knuckles turning white. Alone in the quiet of his neat and tidy room he stood. His heavy breathing echoed off the walls. He looked around at his belongings all neatly placed. His future held more of the same, without a doubt. Him alone, surrounded by his tidy belongings. 

His eyes fell unto his High School Uniform neatly on a hanger. But that was done now. His eyes fell to his volleyball bag on the floor where his Aoba Johsai Volleyball Club jacket was draped neatly over it. But that was done now. 

His mind went blank and he didn't even realize what he was doing. He slowly stepped over and gently picked up the jacket. He held it gingerly as if it might turn to dust in his hands and disappear forever. He felt the soft sport fabric in this fingers and he couldn't help himself. He quickly put it on and then he stood at his full height, jacket resting gently on his shoulders and volleyball in hand. 

Tears slowly filled his eyes as he caught his reflection in the mirror hanging on the back of his door. He stood tall and proud. The teal and white of the jacket suited him so well. Chuo University wore a blue so dark it looked almost black under some lights. That wouldn't suit him at all. _This _was his life, not _That _.____

_____ _

_____ _

This was his life. Here, in Miyagi at Seijou, with Iwaizumi by his side. This was his life, wearing the teal and white and proudly ruling the court. He didn't want anything else. How could he? How could he want anything else when it meant that he had to face the loneliness of that damn number every single day. 1,191.4 km. 

He couldn't stand it anymore and he crumpled in on himself. He knelt there in front his mirror, Seijou colors proudly covering his body and he wept. He trembled and bawled. His eyes stung and burned red. He wailed and he clutched at his volleyball. His volleyball, the only thing he had left in his life. The only thing he could use to fill the emptiness of those 1,191.4 km. 

This, this was the first day of the rest of his life.


End file.
